NJ Transit says Hudson River rail tunnel fix will mean 90-cent fare increase to New York

Highlights of Amtrak's Gateway Program for the Northeast Corridor. Major improvements to infrastructure such as rebuilding the Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River, repairing the Hudson Tunnel and adding a second track, and expanding Penn Station.
Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com

Two NJ Transit trains pass each other on a swing bridge over the Hackensack River that is being replaced.(Photo: Tariq Zehawi/NorthJersey.com)

The governors of New Jersey and New York pledged 100 percent of their local share of funding for a $12.7 billion rail tunnel under the Hudson River, which would increase fares for NJ Transit passengers by 90 cents beginning in 2020.

Gov. Chris Christie said New Jersey's $1.9 billion commitment, along with $1.75 billion from New York and $1.9 billion already committed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Board of Commissioners, will allow the project to begin next year if the federal government kicks in its share. The U.S. Department of Transportation called the states' proposal "unserious."

NJ Transit passengers going through the tunnel will have to pay about 90 cents more beginning in 2020, with the surcharge reaching $1.70 in 2028 and $2.20 in 2038, according to a letter from Steven Santoro, the agency's executive director.

The project would repair the century-old rail tunnel damaged by seawater from Superstorm Sandy in 2012 while building a new two-track tunnel under the Hudson River to supplement it. The corridor serves about 200,000 daily trips between New Jersey and New York and is considered the nation's most vulnerable major transportation link.

“The commitments we make today mark a pivotal milestone in the construction of the Hudson River Tunnel Project, and builds on the work we began earlier this year with the early construction of the Portal North Bridge Project," Christie said in a news release. "It positions the project to immediately compete for federal capital investment grant funds."

In an email message, the U.S. Department of Transportation's press office said the states' pledged funding already includes federal money, and moreover that the estimated cost of the tunnel is $14.9 billion.

“NY and NJ’s submission on file proposes the federal government pay 85 percent of the project costs, for a tunnel where nine out of 10 passengers are local transit riders," the federal department said. "This is entirely unserious.”

Spokesmen for Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo had nothing to add beyond their joint press release.

New York's and New Jersey's pledges would cover half of the cost of the new rail tunnel, while the states will continue to work toward their share of the cost of rehabilitating the existing tunnel, according to a Dec. 14 letter from Richard Cotton, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. That $1.6 billion project isn't scheduled to begin until 2026.

Gov.-elect Phil Murphy said his transition was not apprised of the details of the negotiations between New Jersey and New York. He lamented that NJ Transit’s financial contribution will be done through rate increases on riders.

Murphy said he wants to know whether there were other options to help pay for the project and, if so, why they weren’t pursued. But when he gets into office, Murphy said, he intends to review the project’s application, and if there is a way to provide commuters relief, “we will pursue it.”

In 2010, Christie withdrew state funding from a proposal to build two new rail tunnels ending in a station under 34th Street in Manhattan after cost projections ballooned from $9 billion to more than $14 billion. Christie said he was concerned that New Jersey taxpayers would have to shoulder the overruns.

Two years later, the Amtrak North River Tunnel, the only passenger rail link between New Jersey and New York, was inundated with seawater from Superstorm Sandy. Officials said chlorides remain throughout the tunnel’s structural, mechanical and electrical infrastructure, leaving it vulnerable to failure. If one of the two existing tracks went offline, capacity along the line would drop by 75 percent, resulting in a commuter nightmare, New Jersey and New York officials say.

“What’s so sad and inexcusable is that if Gov. Christie hadn’t canceled the previous tunnel plan and diverted the funding, the tunnel would be nearly complete by now," Assemblyman John McKeon, D-Essex, said in a statement. "Instead, the commuters of New Jersey are going to get whacked again with another increase, but years after Gov. Christie has left office."

State Sens. Loretta Weinberg and Bob Gordon, both Bergen County Democrats, faulted Christie for canceling the 2010 project and said future commuters would have to bear the cost. They said New Jersey shouldn't commit to any funding deal until Murphy takes office.

“The agreement by Governors Christie and Cuomo is a travesty and clearly violates earlier agreements to have New York State pay its fair 50 percent share of the cost of the Gateway tunnel project,” Gordon, of Fair Lawn, said in a statement. “Why is Christie agreeing to have New Jersey pay $1.9 billion when New York is only paying $1.75 billion?"

Christie spokesman Brian Murray declined to comment.

After a meeting earlier this week with Sens. Cory Booker and Robert Menendez, Murphy said the project was his top priority after taking office.